RFL/RE – When Narges Mohammadi’s activist husband resolved in 2012 to leave Iran to escape yet another jail sentence connected to his political activities, she stayed behind with their two children. “She believed she could be more effective inside the country,” Taghi Rahmani, a political activist who had been in and out of Iranian prisons for two decades and had …

RFL/RE – A senior cultural official has resigned after protests by conservative religious authorities over a concert in Iran’s holy Shi’ite city of Qom where many of Iran’s senior ayatollahs are based. Iranian media report that Abbas Daneshi, head of the department of culture in Qom, resigned due to discontent among senior theologians over the event held last month. In …

RFL/RE – Iran has temporarily released a journalist for medical treatment after he suffered from health problems following a hunger strike. Ehsan Mazandarani, editor in chief of the reformist Farhikhtegan daily, was arrested in November 2015 and sentenced in April to seven years in prison after being convicted of charges that included “acting against national security.” His prison sentence was …

Iran Human Rights – Zeinab Sekaanvand, who was 17 years old when she was arrested by Iranian authorities for the murder of her husband, is in imminent danger of execution. Iran Human Rights calls for international reactions to stop Zeinab’s execution Zeinab Sekaanvand Lokran, a juvenile prisoner who was sentenced to death for the murder of her husband, is in imminent …

Al-monitor – Iran is pursuing a “resilient economy” that is less dependent on oil, has reduced nonperforming loans in its banking sector and is anticipating European participation in financing a landmark Boeing deal, according to Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Ali Tayebnia. AUTHOR Barbara Slavin In an interview with Al-Monitor on Oct. 7 on the sidelines of the fall meeting …

PayvandNews – President Hassan Rouhani said on Friday that Iran and Malaysia reaffirmed to strengthen ties and restore economic transactions to the pre-sanctions time. During a joint press conference with Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in Kuala Lumpur, Rouhani said, “We stressed that 2016 should be the year of expanding relations in political, cultural, scientific and economic areas.” …

PayvandNews – Washington says its new guidance for foreign companies doing business with Iran does not ease sanctions that have remained imposed against Tehran. The U.S. Treasury Department, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) The U.S. Treasury Department said on October 8 that an update to its regulations that was published late on October 7 merely clarifies what is and …

PayvandNews – The secretary of Iran’s Human Rights Council has said Tehran may reconsider capital punishment for drug smugglers, limiting it to drug lords only, seemingly a setback from a tougher stance taken previously. “Capital punishment should be limited to drug lords. This will cut the number of executions (in Iran) immediately,” said Mohammad Javad Larijani in an interview with …

PayvanNews – After many of the highest-ranking female players have called for a boycott of the next year’s world Chess Championships in Iran, Sarasadat Khademalsharieh said that the championship will help the Iranian women to participate in the most important event in the country for the first time. Khademalsharieh, 19, is an Iranian chess player who holds the titles of …

RFL/RE – The landmark nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers remains “fragile” in part because it has become a focus of dispute in the U.S. presidential election, the head of the United Nations agency that polices the deal said. “Small technical mistakes, small failures in implementation can become big political issues that could have a large negative influence on …